Hand-held appliance

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to a hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface. The tube extends into the reservoir and comprises multiple tube inlets spaced from each other within the reservoir so that, when the reservoir contains water, a tube inlet is submerged irrespective of the orientation of the housing. In one embodiment, the tube inlet comprises a separate valve assembly associated with each tube inlet so that a valve assembly associated with a submerged tube inlet opens to allow flow of water through that tube inlet and a valve assembly associated with a non-submerged tube inlet closes to prevent the flow of air through said non-submerged tube inlet. In an alternate embodiment, the appliance may be provided with a single valve member that allows water to flow through the valve assembly via a first opening, whilst also preventing the flow of air through the valve assembly through a second opening.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hand-held appliance in which a water reservoir is mounted within a housing that is held in the hand and which has an outlet or nozzle to discharge fluid or steam onto a surface, such as a garment, a fabric article such as a curtain or fabric covered items of furniture. The hand-held appliance of the invention may also be used to clean solid surfaces such as floors or counter tops by the application of steam and/or fluid to the surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional hand-held garment steamer 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1, and comprises a housing 2 containing a water tank or reservoir 3 and a heating chamber 4. Water is delivered from the reservoir 3 to the heating chamber 4 via a delivery system comprising a pump 5 and a tube 6 that has a portion 7 which extends into the reservoir 3 and which has an inlet 8 at its free end for the flow of water into the portion 7 of the tube 6 and along the tube 6 into the heating chamber 4. Water delivered to the heating chamber 4 is converted into steam for delivery to the surface being steamed through an outlet 9. In FIG. 1, the housing 2 is orientated in its intended position of use so that steam is ejected through the outlet 9 in a substantially horizontal direction, as indicated by arrow A.

The portion 7 of the tube 6 extends into the reservoir 3 such that the inlet 8 is positioned at the lowest point in the reservoir 3 when the hand-held steamer is held in its intended orientation during use so that substantially all the water in the reservoir 3 will be drawn into the heating chamber 4, i.e. in the vertical orientation shown in FIG. 1, in which steam exits the outlet 9 substantially horizontally. However, it is also desirable to be able to use the hand-held steamer 1 in other orientations such as when steaming garments or fabric articles placed on an ironing board or when steaming fabric covered items of furniture. In these circumstances, the hand-held steamer 1 will be held in a non-vertical orientation and may even be held horizontally so that steam is exits the housing through the outlet 9 in a substantially vertical direction. However, when a conventional hand-held steamer is held in this way, the inlet 8 will not always be submerged in water in the reservoir 3, especially when the reservoir 3 is only partially full. This results in air being drawn into the heating chamber 4 rather than water, preventing efficient steam generation.

The present invention seeks to provide a hand-held appliance that overcomes or substantially alleviates the problems with a conventional hand-held appliance, such as those identified above, and which maintains adequate delivery of fluid or steam to a surface irrespective of the orientation of the appliance.

Although reference is primarily made to a hand-held steamer for steaming garments or fabric articles, it will be appreciated that the appliance of the invention may be used for a variety of different purposes and may, for example, be used for cleaning solid surfaces such as floors or windows as well as steam ironing of fabric articles or garments. Furthermore, the appliance need not be capable of generating steam, in which case the fluid, such as water contained in the reservoir can be delivered directly onto a surface to be cleaned. However, it is preferable that the appliance is provided with a heating chamber so that water contained in the reservoir is delivered to the heating chamber to be turned into steam prior to delivery to a surface. It is also envisaged that the appliance may be provided with a switch that provides a user with the option to deliver liquid or steam to a surface. For example, it may be possible to use the appliance with the heating chamber switched off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a portion that extends into the reservoir and comprises multiple inlets spaced from each other within the reservoir so that, when the reservoir contains water, an inlet is submerged irrespective of the orientation of the housing, the tube portion also comprising a separate valve assembly associated with each tube inlet so that a valve assembly associated with a submerged tube inlet opens to allow flow of water through that inlet and a valve assembly associated with a non-submerged tube inlet closes to prevent the flow of air through said non-submerged tube inlet.

As the tube portion contains multiple inlets, at least one tube inlet will always be in a submerged position irrespective of the orientation of the appliance. The hand-held appliance will therefore continue to emit fluid or steam consistently in whatever position or orientation it is held in. As the tube inlets which are located above the water line are closed by the valve which is associated with the non-submerged tube inlet, no air will be drawn into the heating chamber through that, or those, tube inlet(s).

Preferably, each valve assembly comprises a housing and a single valve member movable within the housing between a first position in which the inlet is open to allow water to flow past the valve into the inlet and a second position in which the inlet is closed to prevent the passage of air into the inlet.

The valve member may drop under its own weight into its first position and in a direction away from its associated inlet.

In a preferred embodiment, each valve assembly is removably mounted to an end of the tube over the inlet.

The aforementioned features provide a hand-held appliance in which an independent, but identical valve design is used for each tube inlet. As a separate valve assembly is removably attached to each end of the tube over an inlet, the assembly becomes more flexible and easier to manufacture and assemble. It also means that more than two inlets can be used without having to re-design the valve assembly, as a separate but identical valve assembly is simply provided for each inlet. The length of the tube portion within the reservoir is also irrelevant, as the valve assembly can be attached to the end of a tube of any length. It is therefore applicable to hand-held appliances having reservoirs of various different sizes and shapes. As each valve assembly may be removable, they can be replaced easily due to wear or malfunction without replacing the other valve assembly or assemblies.

In a preferred embodiment, the tube portion comprises a primary tube portion extending into the reservoir and a secondary tube portion attached to a free end of the primary tube portion at a junction, a separate valve assembly being mounted to each end of the secondary tube portion remote from said junction. The primary tube portion may extend into the reservoir so that its free end is positioned roughly at a central point within the reservoir. The secondary tube portion can then extend to opposite ends of the reservoir so that at least one inlet will always be submerged in any water in the reservoir irrespective of the orientation of the appliance.

The secondary tube portion may comprise two inlets and may be integrally formed with a connector for attachment to said free end of the primary tube portion to effect fluid communication between the secondary tube portion and the primary tube portion. The connector may comprise a connection piece integrally formed with the secondary tube portion for fluidly connecting the secondary tube portion to the free end of the primary tube portion. Ideally, the secondary tube portion may be a linear or straight section of tubing, and the connection piece can extend at right angles from the secondary tube portion at a point midway between each end of the secondary tube portion so that each tube inlet is positioned at approximately the same distance away from the free end of the primary tube portion. The connection piece may simply be a short, hollow length of tube that is a push fit into the free end of the primary tube portion so as to effect fluid communication between the primary tube portion and the secondary tube portion.

In an alternate embodiment, the secondary tube portion may be formed of a plurality of independent sections. In this case, each independent section may be attached to the free end of the primary tube portion via a connecting element to effect fluid communication between each independent section and the primary tube portion. The secondary tube portion may comprise two independent sections and so the connecting element may, for example, be T-shaped so that each end of the ‘T’ forms a connector that is a push fit within the end of each tube to be connected. If the connecting element is substantially T-shaped, each independent section may extend away from each other in opposite directions and the primary tube portion may extend substantially at right-angles to each independent section.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a portion that extends into the reservoir and comprises two inlets spaced from each other within the reservoir so that, when the reservoir contains water, at least one of said inlets is submerged irrespective of the orientation of the housing, the tube portion comprising a valve assembly having an outlet, first and second openings and a single valve member within said valve assembly that allows water to flow through the valve assembly via the first opening, whilst also preventing the flow of air through the valve assembly through the second opening, the valve member being configured such that it drops under its own weight into an alternate position in response to a change in the orientation of the appliance to allow water to flow through said second opening whilst preventing the flow of air through said first opening.

The appliance according to this aspect of the invention has a simple valve construction, as only one valve member is required to control flow through each of the first and second openings.

Preferably, the tube comprises a primary tube portion that extends into the reservoir so that a free end of said primary tube portion is in fluid communication with the outlet of the valve assembly, and a secondary tube portion extends from each of the first and second openings of the valve assembly, said tube portions being configured such that the valve member drops in a direction toward the opening from which a tube portion having the uppermost inlet extends, depending upon the orientation of the hand-held appliance, to prevent the flow of air through said opening from said secondary tube portion.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a portion that extends into the reservoir, said portion comprising a primary tube portion and a secondary tube portion connected to a free end of the primary tube portion, said secondary tube portion comprising an inlet at each end spaced from each other within the reservoir, and a valve element received within the secondary tube portion, said valve element being slideable under its own weight in response to a change in orientation of the valve element so that, depending upon the orientation of the steamer, an uppermost inlet is closed to prevent the flow of air into the secondary tube portion and the lowermost inlet is open to allow the flow of water into the secondary tube portion.

Preferably, the hand-held appliance according to any aspect of the invention includes a heating chamber and the tube is configured to convey water from the reservoir to the heating chamber to generate steam prior to delivery to a surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of a conventional hand-held appliance in the form of a steamer;

FIG. 2 a shows a cross-sectional side view of part of a hand-held appliance in the form of a steamer according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a first orientation;

FIG. 2 b shows the hand-held steamer of FIG. 2 a but in a second orientation;

FIG. 3 shows a slightly modified version of the hand-held steamer shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b;

FIG. 4 a shows a cross-sectional side view of part of a hand-held steamer according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a first orientation;

FIG. 4 b shows the hand-held steamer of FIG. 4 a but in a second orientation;

FIG. 5 a shows a cross-sectional side view of part of a hand-held steamer according to a third embodiment of the present invention in a first orientation;

FIG. 5 b shows the hand-held steamer of FIG. 5 a but in a second orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

There is shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b a partial view of a first embodiment of a hand-held appliance 10 that is capable of generating steam and which comprises a housing 2 and a reservoir 3, similar to the conventional hand-held steamer 1 described with reference to FIG. 1 above. However, the portion 7 of the tube 6 (see FIG. 1) that extends into the reservoir 3 now has two tube inlets 11, 12 which are positioned at opposite ends of the reservoir 3. A valve assembly 13, 14 is positioned at each inlet 11, 12. When the hand-held steamer 10 is positioned in the orientation shown in FIG. 2 a, i.e. in the same orientation as the hand-held steamer 1 shown in FIG. 1, inlet 11 is lowest and will be submerged in any water contained in the reservoir 3. The valve assembly 13 associated with the inlet 11 will then be in an open position to allow water to flow from the reservoir 3 into the portion 7 of the tube 6, whereas the valve assembly 14 associated with the other inlet 12, which is positioned above inlet 11, will be closed to prevent air from entering the portion 7 of the tube 6.

Each valve assembly 13, 14 is attached to the portion 7 of the tube 6 over each inlet 11,12. Each valve assembly 13,14 is preferably releasably attached to the portion 7 to enable independent removal and replacement of each valve assembly 13,14, although it is envisaged that one or both valve assemblies 13,14 can be permanently attached to the portion 7 or otherwise formed integrally with it. Each valve assembly 13,14 contains a valve member in the form of a weighted body or ball 15 that drops due to gravity and does not float. As shown in FIG. 2 a, both bodies 15 have dropped under gravity so that the body 15 of the valve assembly 14 associated with the upper inlet 12 is in contact with a valve seat 16 at the end of the portion 7, thereby closing the upper inlet 12 and preventing the passage of air into the portion 7. However, the body 15 of the valve assembly 13 associated with the lower inlet 11 is in a position in which it is distanced from its corresponding valve seat 16, thereby allowing water to flow into the portion 7 past the body 15. The body 15 is held in a cage 17 to constrain its movement and prevent it from falling out. The cage 17 has openings or passages therein to allow water to flow around the body 15 and into the inlet 11 when the body 15 is spaced from its valve seat 16.

FIG. 2 b illustrates the same hand-held steamer 10 as shown in FIG. 2 a, but in an orientation in which steam is directed out of the outlet 9 (see FIG. 1) in the housing 2 onto the garment being steamed in a vertically downward direction. The housing 2 may be held in this orientation when, for example, a fabric article that has been placed on an ironing board or on a table or such like is being steamed or, when steaming an item of furniture. As can be appreciated from FIG. 2 b, in this orientation, inlet 12 is now positioned below inlet 11 and will be submerged in any water contained in the reservoir 3 whereas, depending on the amount of water in the reservoir 3, inlet 11 will be above the water line. Therefore, valve assembly 13 associated with inlet 11 is closed to prevent the ingress of air whilst valve assembly 14 associated with inlet 12 is open to maintain a flow of water to the heating chamber 4 (see FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, the portion 7 of the tube 6 within the reservoir 3 may comprise a primary tube portion 18 that extends from a flow control valve 19 in the wall of the reservoir 3, which is connected to a secondary tube portion 20. The inlet 11 is at one end of the secondary tube portion 20 and the other inlet 12 is at the opposite end of the secondary tube portion 20. The secondary tube portion 20 has an integral connector 21 positioned midway between the inlets 11, 12 to fluidly connect it to a free end of the primary tube portion 18. The secondary tube portion 20 may extend diagonally across the inside of the reservoir 3 so that, when the housing 2 is in the position shown in FIG. 2 b, inlet 12 will be below inlet 11. The primary tube portion 18 and/or the secondary tube portion 20 may be formed from rigid or flexible parts or a combination of both.

A modified version of the steamer 10 shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b is shown in FIG. 3. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the secondary tube portion 20 is formed in two parts 20 a, 20 b fluidly connected together by a separate T-shaped connector 22, which also fluidly connects the two parts 20 a, 20 b to the free end of the primary tube portion 18. Each secondary tube portion 20 a, 20 b may be formed from flexible or rigid tubing.

Although the embodiments of FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and FIG. 3 each have a secondary tube portion 20, 20 a, 20 b that has two inlets, it will be appreciated that the secondary tube portion 20 a, 20 b could also be provided with more than two inlets, each inlet being positioned in a different location within the reservoir 3. Further inlets may be required depending upon the shape of the reservoir 3 and so as to ensure that at least one inlet will be submerged in any water remaining in the reservoir 3 irrespective of the orientation of the steamer.

Another embodiment will now be described, with reference to FIGS. 4 a and 4 b. In this embodiment, the primary tube portion 18 is connected directly a single fluid flow control valve 23 which is located roughly centrally within the reservoir 3. Secondary tube portions 24 a, 24 b are fluidly attached to, and extend in opposite directions from, the fluid flow control valve 23. An inlet 25, 26 is provided at the end of each secondary tube section 24 a, 24 b. In this embodiment, the fluid flow control valve 23 comprises a valve housing 27 containing a weighted body 30 which toggles between a first position at one end of the valve housing 27, as shown in FIG. 4 a, in which it sits against a first valve seat 28 to close the secondary tube portion 24 a and stop ingress of air into inlet 25; and a second position, as shown in FIG. 4 b, in which it sits against a second valve seat 29 at the opposite end of the valve housing 27 to close the secondary tube portion 24 b and stop ingress of air into inlet 26. The weighted body 30 moves between its first and second positions under gravity and in response to a change in the orientation of the housing 2. When the housing 2 is in an orientation in which steam is emitted from the outlet 9 (see FIG. 1) in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 4 a, the body 30 sits against valve seat 28 to close the secondary tube portion 24 a and, when the housing 2 is in an orientation in which steam is emitted from the outlet 9 in a substantially vertical direction as shown in FIG. 4 b, the body 30 sits against valve seat 29 to close the secondary tube portion 24 b. As shown in FIG. 4 b, the secondary tube portion 24 a is positioned so that the inlet 25 is lower than the inlet 26 at the end of the other secondary tube portion 24 b when the housing 2 is in the orientation shown in FIG. 4 b so that the inlet 25 will always be submerged in any water contained in the reservoir 3 when the housing 2 is in this position.

A further embodiment is shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b. In this embodiment, the portion 7 of the tube 6 has a secondary tube portion 31 connected to the free end of the primary tube portion 18, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b. However, in this embodiment the valve assembly is formed by a rod 32 slideably received in the secondary tube portion 31 so that it protrudes from the inlets 33, 34 at each end of the secondary tube portion 31. An enlarged head 35 a, 35 b is provided at each end of the rod 32 and carries a sealing disc 36 a, 36 b that faces its corresponding inlet end 33, 34 of the secondary tube portion 31.

When the housing 2 is in a position shown in FIG. 5 a, in which the outlet 9 (see FIG. 1) is positioned to eject steam in a substantially horizontal direction, the rod 32 slides downwardly under its own weight within the secondary tube portion 31 so that the sealing disc 36 a on the uppermost head 35 a contacts and seals against the inlet 33 preventing the flow of air into the secondary tube portion 31. At the same time, the sealing disc 36 b on the lowermost head 35 b is spaced from its corresponding inlet 34, thereby allowing any water in the reservoir 3 to pass into and along the secondary tube portion 31 via the annular passage defined by the rod 32 and the inner surface of the secondary tube portion 31 when the lowermost inlet 34 is submerged. When the housing 2 is orientated in the position shown in FIG. 5 b, in which the outlet 9 is positioned so that steam is ejected in a substantially vertical direction, the rod 32 slides within the secondary tube portion 31 so that the sealing member 36 a is now spaced from the lowermost inlet 33 and the uppermost inlet 34 is closed by the other sealing member 36 b, thereby allowing any water in the reservoir 3 to flow into the secondary tube portion 31 via the annular passage defined by the rod 32 and the inner surface of the secondary tube portion 31 when the lowermost inlet 33 is submerged.

It will be appreciated that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and that the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to an advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Although claims have been formulated in this application to particular combinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure of the present invention also includes any novel features or any novel combinations of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or any generalisation thereof, whether or not it relates to the same invention as presently claimed in any claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does the parent invention. The applicants hereby give notice that new claims may be formulated to such features and/or combinations of features during the prosecution of the present application or of any further application derived therefrom. 

1. A hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a portion that extends into the reservoir, wherein the tube comprises multiple tube inlets spaced from each other within the reservoir so that, when the reservoir contains water, a tube inlet is submerged irrespective of the orientation of the housing, the tube inlet also comprising a separate valve assembly associated with each tube inlet so that a valve assembly associated with a submerged tube inlet opens to allow flow of water through that tube inlet and a valve assembly associated with a non-submerged tube inlet closes to prevent the flow of air through said non-submerged tube inlet.
 2. A hand-held appliance according to claim 1, wherein each valve assembly comprises a housing and a single valve member movable within the housing between a first position in which the tube inlet is open to allow water to flow past the single valve member into the tube inlet and a second position in which the inlet is closed to prevent the passage of air into the tube inlet.
 3. A hand-held appliance according to claim 2, wherein the valve member drops under its own weight into its first position and in a direction away from its associated inlet.
 4. A hand-held appliance according to claim 1, wherein each valve assembly is removably mounted to an end of the tube over the tube inlet.
 5. A hand-held appliance according to claim 1, wherein the tube portion comprises a primary tube portion extending into the reservoir and a secondary tube portion attached to a free end of the primary tube portion at a junction, a separate valve assembly being mounted to each end of the secondary tube portion remote from said junction.
 6. A hand-held appliance according to claim 5, wherein the secondary tube portion comprises two inlets and is integrally formed with a connector for attachment to said free end of the primary tube portion to effect fluid communication between the secondary tube portion and the primary tube portion.
 7. A hand-held appliance according to claim 5, wherein the secondary tube portion is formed of a plurality of independent sections, each section being attached to said free end of the primary tube portion via a connecting element to effect fluid communication between each independent section and the primary tube portion.
 8. A hand-held appliance according to claim 7, wherein the secondary tube portion comprises two independent sections and the connecting element is substantially T-shaped so that each independent section extends away from each other in opposite directions and the primary tube portion extends substantially at right-angles to each independent section.
 9. A hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a portion that extends into the reservoir, wherein the tube comprises two inlets spaced from each other within the reservoir so that, when the reservoir contains water, at least one of said inlets is submerged irrespective of the orientation of the housing, the tube portion comprising a valve assembly having and outlet, first and second openings and a single valve member within said assembly that allows water to flow through the valve assembly via the first opening, whilst also preventing the flow of air through the valve assembly through the second opening, the valve member being configured such that it drops under its own weight into an alternate position in response to a change in the orientation of the steamer to allow water to flow through said second opening via one of said inlets whilst preventing the flow of air through said first opening via the other of said inlets.
 10. A hand-held appliance according to claim 9, wherein the tube portion comprises a primary tube portion, a free end of said primary tube portion being in fluid communication with the outlet of the valve assembly, and a secondary tube portion extending from each of the first and second openings of the valve assembly, said secondary tube portions being configured such that the valve member drops in a direction toward the opening from which a secondary tube portion having the uppermost inlet extends, depending upon the orientation of the hand-held appliance, to prevent the flow of air through said opening from said secondary tube portion.
 11. A hand-held appliance comprising a housing including a reservoir to contain water and a tube to convey water from the reservoir for delivery to a surface, wherein the tube has a tube portion that extends into the reservoir and comprises a primary tube portion and a secondary tube portion connected to a free end of the primary tube portion, wherein the secondary tube portion comprises an inlet at each end spaced from each other within the reservoir, and a valve element received within the secondary tube portion, said valve element being slideable under its own weight in response to a change in orientation so that, depending upon the orientation of the steamer, an uppermost inlet is closed to prevent the flow of air into the secondary tube portion and the lowermost inlet is open to allow the flow of water into the secondary tube portion.
 12. A hand-held appliance according to claim 1, comprising a heating chamber, wherein the tube is configured to convey water from the reservoir to the heating chamber to generate steam prior to delivery to a surface. 